More disappointing data on US broadband

So many chances to improve things have passed since I began this blog almost a year ago that should have changed things. Sadly so little has changed. In fact the Telcos gained nearly complete control of the new wireless spectrum set aside for broadband. New data bears out that the state of American broadband is continuing to lose ground to the rest of the developed world.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has once again released their broadband statistics for OECD member countries. The OECD’s broadband portal offers statistics that are current up to December 2007 — the latest data showing we’re tops in total broadband subscribers (69.9 million), but still fifteenth in penetration per 100 inhabitants (23%) and 22nd in average monthly subscription price.

The latest data shows that the U.S.’s broadband penetration rate (subscriptions per 100 inhabitants) now sits at 23%, up from 5.49% back in 2002. While 23% is higher than the OECD average (20%), it still places the U.S. in fifteenth place overall, behind countries such as Canada (27%), Finland (31%) and Denmark (35%).

Broadband prices are another area where the United States lags its OECD counterparts, the U.S. coming in at 11th in terms of cost per MB, and 22nd in monthly subscription price. As of October 2007, the average price of a broadband connection in the U.S. was $53.06. Even when getting a helping hand from discount $15-$20 DSL tiers, that’s higher than Mexico ($49.81) and South Korea ($37.81) but certainly lower than Norway ($88.07) or Iceland ($97.30). The average price per MB in the U.S. was $12.60 (it’s $3.70/Mbps in France, but $97.43/Mbps in Turkey).(Broadband Reports)